Luggage handling device for railway cars



May 19, 1936. B. F. FITCH LUGGAGE HANDLING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS Fil ed Oct. 24, 1932 3 s heet sheet 1 Qwuantoc G flawm May 19, 1936. I 3 F. FITCH 2,041,404

LUGGAGEHANDLING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 24, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 19,1936. B. F. FITCH LUGGAGE 'HANDLING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 24, 19-32 FIG FIG

as, 700/ I Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED 1 STATES LUGGAGE HANDLING. DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS Benjamin F. Fitch, Greenwich, Conn.

Application October 24, 1932, Serial No. 639,280

17 Claims.

This invention relates to means installed on a railway passenger car, for the efficient handling of hand luggage, to enablea saving of time and greater convenience for the pas- 5 senger and an increased space available within the car.

My invention provides efficient means for storing and handling the luggage in the vestibule of the car, so that the luggage, to which access is not desired on the trip, may remain stored in the vestibule and be available for immediate discharge when the passenger arrives at destination.

To the above end, I provide a carrier of a size commensurate with the normally idle space in the vestibule at either side of the aisle, thiscarrier being shiftable from one side of the car to the other, according to which side is to be opened for entrance or exit of passengers. .The carrier has a number of shelves on which hand grips or other luggage may be stored, and "has doors or other closures on its opposite sides which are lengthwise of the car, either of which sides may be opened or closed and locked. I provide a vestibule to the other.

It results from the construction outlined that the carrier may stand at the side of the car which is adjacent the loading platformand the luggage'be put directly into the carrier from the station platform through the open car door. Then the inner side of the carrier may be closed, if it has not already been closed,'and the whole carrier may be moved to the other side of the vestibule to allow the car door to be closed; The closure of the carrier door adjacent the car aisle effectively confines the luggage within the carrier, where it is under the control of the car attendant. At way stations, the carrier may be loaded from its inner side, as the passengers pass" 1 into the car.

At stations where only a fewpassengers are disembarking, it will be satisfactory for the car attendant to leave the carrier on whichever side it happens to be, and open the aisle -door to the carrier, and hand the baggage to the passenger as he passes out. If the carrier happens to be on the platform side of the car, the passenger will ordinarily simply step over into the -vestibuleiof the adjacent car and use the steps of that vestibule in passing down to the platform.-:If the cars should happen to be coupled in such manner that "each of the two platforms have carriers,

readily operable mechanism for shifting the car-w rier transversely of the car from one side of the" one of the carriers willnormally stand at the form-side or the opposite side of the car. However, with my means for shifting the carrier from one side of the car to the other, it may be readily transferred, so that as the train comes to a stop at the platform, the carrier will be on the platform side of the car. Such lateral shifting is ordinarily effected after the door to the car vestibule has been opened, and just about as the car arrives at its destination. The carrier will then stand at the open side of the car and as soon as the attendant on the station platform opens the carrier door the luggage contained in the carrier will be accessible for discharge at the open side.

It will be seen, therefore, that it is an im- ,portant characteristic of my invention that the carrier be accessible from either of its opposite sides, so that the luggage may be mounted from either the outside or the inside, and removed from either side. It is also an important characteristic that the carrier may be shifted from one' side of the vestibule to the other, so as to be available at either side, while leaving the central aisle space unobstructed. Means for shifting the carrier is preferably carried in the roof of the vestibule and may be operated manually or by other suitable power, as, for instance, an electric motor, and this is also included within my invention.

All of the above features will be hereinafter more fully explained in connection with the drawings, whichdisclose a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan, partly broken away,..of arailway car equipped with my luggage carrier in each of its two vestibules; Fig. 2 is a plan of several cars, coupled together, with my luggage carrier in one of the vestibules of each. car; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the adjacent end of two coupled railway cars, illustrating the operation of my invention when loading or unloading from the outside; Fig.4 is a cross-section of my equipped railway car, through the vestibule thereof, as indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Figs. 5 and 6 are details of the construction shown in Fig. 4, being sections on the lines 5-5 and 6-6 of that figure; Fig; 7 is a plan of one form of my carrier, having on its opposite sides doors hinged on vertical axes; Fig. 8 is a detail illustrating a motor drive for shifting the carrier; Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a front View of one form of my carrier; Fig. 11 is a vertical section on the line on Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a detail in section on the line |2-|2 on Fig. 10; Fig. 13 is a front view of another form of my carrier, and Fig. 14 is a vertical section on the line |4|4 on Fig. 13.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, A indicates a railway car, and B the vestibule thereof, extending, as usual, for the full width of the car and having a narrower, central extension 2) where the connection to the adjacent car is effected. C indicates my carrier which is of such general dimensions that it may stand within the vestibule at either side of the central aisle space, as illustrated in Fig. 1. This carrier consists of a vertical box, rectangular in cross-section, and having a number of shelves in it. Different forms of the carrier will be hereinafter described, any of which is openable on its opposite sides. Means hereinafter described may transfer the carrier from one side of the car to the other, so. that the carrier may be accessible at either side of the car on the outside, or at either side from the interior aisle.

In the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the carrier has at its upper end four brackets l9, which carry wheels adapted to rest on transverse rails l2, mounted in the roof space of the vestibule. This enables the carrier to roll from one side of the car to the other. I prefer to provide on the lower portion of the carrier a guiding roller I5, (Fig. 6) which may rest against a trackway or guide plate I6, carried by the end of the body of the car on each side of the doorway.

Such a carrier as described, being suspended on rollers, might be shifted manually from one side of the car to the other, but, as I contemplate the carrier being loaded with a large number of grips or travelling cases, it will have considerable Weight, and to avoid the necessity of pulling or shoving it from one side to the other by man-power, I provide an efficient mechanism enabling the car attendant to readily shift it. This mechanism may be manually operated. I may also provide electric mechanism, whereby the carrier may be shifted by a motor if electricity is available. These will now be described.

In the manual operation of the mechanism, I prefer to provide an endless chain extending crosswise of the vestibule in the roof portion, the same being anchored to the carrier, and convenient power mechanism being provided for operating such chain. As shown in Fig. 4, a bracket 20 is attached to the top of the carrier, and is connected to an endless sprocket chain 2|, which extends over pulleys 22 carried at the opposite sides of the car. Intermediately this sprocket chain extends over a sprocket wheel 25, on a longitudinal shaft 26. On this shaft is a notched wheel 21, adapted to be actuated by a pawl 28, carried by a lever 29 on the longitudinal shaft. This lever is located in the aisle space beyond the vestibule proper adjacent the connection portion between the cars. The lever depends sulficiently so that it may be grasped by an operator. By oscillating the lever 29, the pawl 28 will turn the wheel 21 in one direction or the other, to cause the sprocket chain to travel, and thus the, .loaded carrier, notwithstanding the weight of the luggage therein, may be quickly and easily shifted from one side of the car to the other. Fig. 5 shows at 25 a top bracket for retaining the handle 29, in idle position. However, a forceful downward pull on this handle will free it from the keeper, so that it may be oscillated to operate the carrier, as indicated in Fig. 4.

In place of the manual shifting mechanism I may provide for electric shifting of the container, and in that case I prefer to provide a transverse screw 30, (Figs. 8 and 9), which engages a nut 3| on the top of the carrier, this screw being connected to a worm wheel 33, which is driven by a worm 34 on the armature shaft of a motor 35. The motor, worm and worm wheel are located at one side of the car and the screw shaft extends crosswise thereof and thus can readily shift the carrier from one side of the car to the other, according to the direction of movement of the motor.

I have heretofore mentioned that my carrier C has closures on its opposite sides. A convenient way to arrange such closures is as shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, where each closure consists of a flexible curtain, as 49 or 4|, adapted to extend down vertically across the front of the carrier, then passing to the top of the carrier, and toward the opposite side and depending behind the luggage compartment. Each of these flexible curtains is independent of the other, and 1 either may be operated to open the carrier at that side.

In place of the curtains described, I may provide a door for each compartment, after the manner of a sectional bookcase. trated in Figs. 13 and 14, where an individual door 50 is carried by a slide 5|, adapted to enter a horizontal space above that individual compartment. Accordingly, the door, by being turned out in a. horizontal position, as illustrated at the top of Fig. 14, may be shoved into the space above the compartment. In place of either of these arrangements for closing the opposite sides of the compartment, I may, if desired, use simply a single door in each side, hinged on a vertical axis, as indicated by the door 60 in Fig. 7.

It will be seen from the description given that I have provided, in the idle space within the vestibule of a railway car, a carrier, having shelves for the luggage and having open sides together with mechanism whereby the carrier may be shifted from one side of the car to the other. With such an arrangement of shiftable luggage carriers, an operation substantially as follows may be carried out, if desired.

As passengers arrive, they can be asked which piece or pieces of luggage are desired at seats or berths and which pieces are not required during the journey. The latter will then have a claim check attached by porter and deposited in container, stub therefrom will be given to the passenger, and necessary piece or pieces of luggage carried to passengers berth.

Immediately upon train departure, the container door can be closed and locked, after which, passengers luggage will ride in the vestibule with better safety than in the seat or section location, being at all times available for access on delivery of claim stub toporter with request that such individual piece be brought to the seat or section for whatever purpose desired.

At destination, two alternatives are possible. The porter, after bringing out the smaller currently used pieces of baggage, can, with minimum delay, hand. same to the attendants on platforms,

This is illusand then, as passengers fileout, deliver their reserve'luggagefroin'the container accordingto This will largely de their check applications. crease porters obligations at major stations, thereby enabling him to render better service to passengers.

At themajor terminal points where car level platforms are provided, the porter can open his cardoor when informed of which side of platform passengers will alight, and then open his containerdoor, trolleying the container to the open door entrance, thereby having luggage immediately available for lift-out activities of attendants.

Under 'such' Conditions, the'passengers would pass'by the' rear end of container through vestibule connection and out to platform through unoccupied vestibule of adjacent car, claiming their-baggageas already spotted on platform by the attendants, and thus, depart from train with minimum'delay and confusion.

If two such excess hand luggage containers are supplied each car, the porter will elect the use of the container at end of car assigned for entrance and exit, utilizing the container at reverse end. of car for overflow requirements. Under such conditions, when the second container is stowed, the unloading methods will be a combination of the first two methods mentioned, or selective, as recommended at each individual station point.

It will be seen that my system keeps the luggage out of the car body proper and still insures its'safe transport, less congestion or operating inconvenience while in transit. Long haul trains are particularly'burdened with such excess luggage demands of tourists, and porters are frequently burdened with the necessity of shifting such luggage at in-transit station points from one side of platform to the other. Provisions such as I have outlined will create for excess luggage, suitable storage, less the loss of tariff-producing car space, since the containers but utilize the existing non-tariff producing vestibule platform area.

I claim:

1. The combination of a railway car, having a vestibuled platform at the end thereof, an overhead trackway in the roof of said vestibule, a suspended carrier on said trackway, an endless chain in the roof of the vestibule connected with the carrier, and means for operating the chain to shift the carrier from one side of the vestibule to the other.

2. The combination of a railway car, havmg a vestibuled platform at the end thereof, a pair of transverse rails located in the roof of the platform, a luggage carrier having at its top wheels tracking on said rails, said carrier being adapted to stand in the idle space in the vestibule at the side of the longitudinal aisle and being shiftable along said trackway to the opposite idle space.

3. The combination of a railway car, having a vestibuled platform, a pair of rails in the roof of said platform, a carrier having supporting wheels tracking on said rails, said carrier having a lower guiding wheel adapted to engage the ends of the car, and mechanism located in the roof of the vestibule and connected with the carrier, said mechanism being operable to shift the carrier from one side of the car to the other.

4. The combination of a car having a vestibule, a luggage carrier mounted within the vestibule and adapted to be shifted from one side of the car to the other, a transverse screw mounted in the car and connecting with the carrier, and a motor for operating the screw.

5. The combination of a railway can-having avestibuled platform at the end thereof, a luggage carrier rectangular in cross-section and adapted to stand in the vestibule at the side of the longi tudinal aisle space, the carrier having shelves and having openings on the outer side and inner side of the shelves and means for closing either' side of the carrier, said carrier 'extendingto about the height of the car doorway and being 'p'rothe carrier.

.15 bule tothe other, and mechanism for so propelling f1 6. The'combination of a railway car having doorways directly opposite each other in its two sides and having a central aisle space between the doorways, doors for said doorways, a luggage carrier retained within the car and adapted to occupy the spacebetween the central aisle and either doorway, said carrier being accessible at its opposite sides so that luggage can be put in the carrier, or vice versa, means for closing whichfrom the outside and removed from the inside of ever face of the carrier is on the inside,- and a mechanism attached to the car for shifting the' carrier from one side of the car to the other.

'7. The combination of a railway car having a vestibule at the end thereof, a luggage carrier adapted to occupy the vestibule at either sideof the central aisle space and be retained in the vestibule, and means in the roof of the vestibule for shifting the luggage carrier in a straight line directly from one side to the other.

8. The combination of a railway car, equipped with a vestibule having a central aisle space, an overhead trackway in said vestibule extending transversely beyond each side of the aisle space, and a luggage carrier permanently mounted in the car and suspended from said trackway to move from either side of the car to the other and of such size that it may stand entirely between the aisle space and the side of the car.

9. The combination of a railway car, having a vestibuled platform having doors at its opposite sides, a luggage carrier mounted above the platform, propelling mechanism in the roof of the vestibule connected with the luggage carrier, and means for operating the same to shift the carrier from one side of the platform to: the other.

10. The combination of a car having a vestibule, a transverse trackway in the vestibule, a luggage carrier in the vestibule suspended from the trackway and shiftable in a straight line from one side of the vestibule to the other, transversely moving mechanism connected to the carrier, and a hand-operated device located in the coupling space beyond the vestibule proper and operatively connected with said mechanisms, whereby the operator, out of the transverse passageway across the car, may shift the carrier through said passageway from one side to the other by the operation of said hand device.

11. The combination of a car, having a vestibule with an external door and an internal aisle, a luggage carrier which substantially fills the doorway space on one side of the aisle and is mounted in the vestibule on a track carried by the car and shiftable from side to side thereof transversely of the car on said track, said carrier being openable on its opposite sides and having means for closing the openings.

12. The combination of a car having a Vestibuled platform with an external doorway and an internal aisle, a luggage carrier substantially filling the doorway space on one side of the aisle and mounted above the platform and in the vestibule and shiftable from one side to the other transversely of the car, a trackway extending across the vestibule and engaged by the carrier,

said carrier having its opposite sides open 1ongitudinally of the car, and sliding curtains on the opposite sides for closing the openings 13. The combination of a railway car, equipped with a vestibuled platform, an upright luggage carrier substantially rectangular in cross-section and mounted in the vestibule and substantially filling the space at one side of the center aisle and shiftable from side to side, said carrier having shelves for supporting tiers of luggage and having doorways at the inner and outer sides of the carrier.

14. The combination of a railway car having doorways directly opposite each other in its two sides, and having a central aisle space between the doorways, a luggage carrier retained within the car on a guideway rigid with the car and adapted to occupy the space between the central aisle and either doorway and accessible from opposite longitudinal sides, and mechanism operatively connecting said car and said carrier for shifting said carrier from one of such spaces to the other.

15. The combination of a railway car having doorways directly opposite each other in its two sides, and having a central aisle space between the doorways, a luggage carrier substantially filling the doorway space on one side of the aisle and retained within the car and having a width no greater than the space between the central aisle and either doorway and shiftable from one of such spaces to the other, and means mounted on the car and operable from the central aisle space and connected with the carrier, said carrier being accessible at its opposite sides so that luggage can be put in from the outside and removed from the inside of the carrier, or vice versa.

16. The combination of a railway car having a platform, an aisle and a doorway and a luggage carrier of materially less width than the car and substantially filling the doorway space on one side of the aisle and permanently mounted over the platform and retained in the car and guided for shifting movement transversely from one side of 9 the car to the other, and means mounted on the car and connected to the carrier to move it, as stated, said means being operable from a location outside the region of said platform.

17. The combination of a railway car having a doorway and an aisle, a luggage carrier therein substantially filling the doorway space on one side of the aisle and equipped with shelves, one above the other, for carrying hand luggage, said shelves being accessible from both the inside and the outside of the car, and mechanism mounted on the car operatively connected with the carrier and operable to shift such carrier to bring it opposite and adjacent to said doorway.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH. 

